ARCHIVES

NEWS

Tag: Daigo Saito

Tune into Grandprixchannel.com January 19, 2014 at 3:00 PM Thailand Time, for USA time zones the livestream will start at 12:00 AM Pacific & 3:00 AM Eastern Standard Time for the livestream. Click here for the livestream link.

Singapore, 22 November 2013 – Formula Drift Asia will be returning to Thailand in 2014, in replacement of Formula Drift Indonesia initially scheduled for December 2013. This will serve as the final leg of the 2013 season, as well as the opening round of the 2014 season. The last time the Series was held in Thailand was back in 2010.

To be held at Pathum Thani Speedway on 18 and 19 January, Formula Drift Thailand 2014 is co-organised with Grand Prix International Co., Ltd (GPI), which owns the Bangkok International Motor Show, several motorsport events, a host of magazines such as Grand Prix and XO Autosport, as well as television channel Grand Prix Channel. For the first time ever, there will be ‘live’ streaming for Formula Drift Asia events so fans from all over the world can keep up with the sideways smoking action.

Marcus Lim, Co-Founder of Formula Drift Asia, “We are excited to return to the Thailand market, after three years of absence, and we look forward to coming back to Indonesia in the near future. 2013 also marks the end of a fruitful chapter with Achilles as the title sponsor of the Asia series. We look forward to welcoming new partners to the fold as we move on to a combined platform globally. The integration of operations with the US side will give us better strategic alignment for the development of the sport in Asia. ”

“We brought the first international drifting competition to Thailand four years ago and we are excited to be able to bring Formula Drift back. The timing is right as we have integrated and merged the Formula Drift Asia and USA offices to lay a foundation to create a world championship series,” said Jim Liaw, President and Co-Founder of Formula Drift.

In other exciting news, Formula Drift will merge their USA and Asia operations from 2014 with a global headquarters in Long Beach and a regional office in Singapore, in anticipation for a World Championship in 2015. The merger comes after six years of successful event operations in Asia taking Formula Drift to Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia. Formula Drift Asia licensor Driftpac will remain an integral part of the Formula Drift events in Asia and will continue to assist in expansion of the brand.

The plan for 2015 is to operate a world championship where some or all of the events on the Formula Drift USA and Formula Drift Asia calendars, as well as possible new host venues, will count towards the world championship.

Formula Drift Asia has been a key drifting event within the region since its inaugural season in 2007, bringing the excitement and heart-stopping track action to fans in iconic locations such as the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix’s Marina Bay circuit and the historic Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur.

The most diverse and talented pool of drivers from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, USA and Japan have competed in the series. Expect the usual array of international drifting stars like Daigo Saito, Fredric Aasbo, Robbie Nishida, Kenshiro Gushi, Josh Boettcher and Tengku Djan.

Round 7: Final Fight at Irwindale Speedway was held in front of a sellout crowd and was the largest motorsport event in the venue’s history. The exciting event marked the end of the tenth season for the Series and was also the most attended for the Series with approximately over 20,000 attendees over the two day event.

“What a way to complete the tenth season with the biggest crowd and probably the biggest motorsport event ever in Irwindale Speedway history,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “We are extremely grateful for the fans, sponsors and drivers that have helped grow the series over the ten years and we look forward to many more seasons to come.”

The action unfolded beginning with Michael Essa, who entered the event with the point lead, earning the number one qualifying position giving him a good position into the Top 32 and advancing into the Top 16 where he was unable to continue in the event with a blown motor. This opened the door for Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy / Hankook Nissan 370Z, who entered the event in second place in the standings. Essa secured the championship when Forsberg lost to the 2012 champion, Daigo Saito, in the Great 8. This marks the first time a European vehicle has won the Formula DRIFT championship.

“Coming into this event I wanted to prove that this season wasn’t a fluke and sitting on the sideline wasn’t how I wanted the event to go down, but unfortunately that is what happened tonight,” said Michael Essa, 2013 Formula DRIFT champion. “The Formula DRIFT championship has always been my goal and I am extremely excited. There are so many amazing drivers and teams in the Series and being able to just compete with them is an honor. We are hoping to carry this momentum into the next season and earn more wins.”

The consolation round saw Robbie Nishida in the Bridges Racing / Achilles Tire Lexus SC300 against Forrest Wang in the Get Nuts Lab / Achilles Nissan 240SX. Wang got the best of Nishida to earn third place for his first ever Formula DRIFT podium. The final battle pitted Daigo Saito vs Tyler McQuarrie in the Mobil 1 / GoPro Chevrolet Camaro. McQuarrie hit the wall on the second battle to give Saito the event victory.

“To tell the truth I was not really feeling it in practice, but when the battles began and the lights turned on I was able to pull it together when it counted and am happy for the win to end the season,” said Daigo Saito, winner of Round 7: Final Fight. “I had a lot of issues with the car this year and I feel we weren’t able to get the car to the condition I really needed to be more competitive, but coming in third overall is something I am proud and happy about.”

Two new championships were added to the Series that included the tire and manufacturer championship. After seven events for the season, Lexus comes out on top for the inaugural manufacturer championship, while Hankook Tire takes the first tire championship.